Concrete element casting apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for casting concrete pillars, columns and beams comprises several units following upon each other and serving to support a pair of mold side walls and a bottom plate of a concrete mold, the mold side walls and the bottom plate being exchangeable for permitting casting concrete elements of varying lengths, the distance between the mold side walls being adjustable and the height position of the mold side walls being variable to permit casting concrete elements of varying sizes, and the mold side walls being so arranged as to allow being moved apart for &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;opening&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; of the mold so that the concrete element cast can be removed.

United States, Patent Wellander [541 CONCRETE ELEMENT CASTING APPARATUS[72] Inventor: Sven Arvid Emanuel Wellander,

Malmo, Sweden [73] Assignee: Ystads AB Smide & Svets, Ystad,

Sweden 22 Filed: June7, 1971 21 Appl.No.: 150,651

[30] Foreign Application Priority Date June 8, 1970 Sweden ..7880/70[52] US. Cl. ..249/50, 249/48, 249/155, 249/1'70 [51] Int. Cl. ..B28b7/22 [58] Field of Search ..249/50, 48, 155, 156, 160, 249/161,l63,165,168,169, 219, 219 W, 170; 425/441, 442

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,010,174 11/1961 McCall..249/50 [-451 Dec. 5, 1972 3,645,490 2/1972 Beasley ..249/50 PrimaryExaminer-J. Spencer Overholser Assistant Examiner-Dewalden W. JonesAttorney-John Lezdey [57] ABSTRACT An apparatus for casting concretepillars, columns and beams comprises several units following upon eachother and serving to support a pair of mold side walls and a bottomplate of a concrete mold, the mold side walls and the bottom plate beingexchangeable for permitting casting concrete elements of varyinglengths, the distance between the mold side walls being adjustable andthe height position of the mold side walls being variable to permitcasting concrete elements of varying sizes, and the mold side wallsbeing so arranged as to allow being moved apart for opening of the moldso that the concrete element cast can be removed.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTED DEC 5 m2 SHEET 2 OF 3 PATENTEDBEB 5I972 SHEET 3 OF 3 1) FIG. 3

. l CONCRETE ELEMENT CASTING APPARATUS This invention relates to anapparatus for casting such concrete elements as pillars, columns orbeams of varying height, width and length, which apparatus comprises aplurality of units collectively constituting the supports for two moldside walls and one bottom plate of aconcrete mold, said units beingarranged following upon each other tomake up the desired mold length.

One object of the invention is to provide a concrete mold the height,width and length of which can be altered by simple operations to permitcasting concrete elements of varying dimensions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a concrete mold which isreadily opened to facilitate placing the reinforcement therein and toremove the finished concrete element therefrom, said mold beingnevertheless extremely stable.

Characteristic of the apparatus according to the present invention isthat each of the units has a horizontal frame beam which has mountedthereon a fixedly connected frame standard and a horizontally movableframe standard which can be locked to the frame beam, that there isprovided between thetwo standards support means disposed on thehorizontal frame beam and supporting the bottom plate of the mold on alevel above the frame beam, that the mold side walls are situated onboth sides of the bottom plate and the support means and extendvertically both above and below the horizontal plane of the bottomplate, and that on the side of the mold side walls facing away from thebottom plate there are mounted fixedly arranged uprights for thefixation of the mold side walls to the frame standards on the one handon a level with the bottom plate by means of a journal inserted in ahole in the respective adjoining frame standard and in one of the holesof a lower series of holes formed in the upright, and on the other handadjacent the upper end of the upright by means of a cotter pin or likeelement which is inserted in one of the holes of an upper series ofholes formed in the upright and in a hole in a toggle lever means whichis pivoted to the frame standard and operable by means of a manuallyactuable lever orby means of a pressure medium operated cylinder-pistonunit and by means of which the upright with the mold side wall can beswung into two different positions, one in which that part of the moldside wall which is situated above the bottom plate makes a right anglewith the bottom plate of the mold, and the other in which that part ofthe mold side wall which is situated abovethe bottom plate makes anangle with the bottom plate of the mold greater than 90.

The invention will be described more in detail hereinbelow withreference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view, partly in section, of an apparatus according tothe invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross section on line A-A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view of part of FIG. 2 inwhich a mold side wall is swunginto inclined position.

The apparatus comprises a plurality of units which follow upon eachother and each of which is a horizontal frame beam 1 which has fixedlymounted thereto a frame standard 2 and a horizontally movable framestandard 3 which can be locked to the frame beam. Disposed between thetwo frame standards on the horizontal frame beam 1 is a support 4 whichcarries the bottom plate 5 of a concrete mold on a level above thebeam 1. The side walls of the mold are constituted by panels 7 andsupporting frame structures 6secured thereto. The mold side walls 6, 7are situated on either side of the bottom plate 5 and the support 4 andextend vertically both above and below the horizontal plane of thebottom plate 5. Uprights 8 are fixedly secured to the sides of the framestructures 6 facing away from the side walls 7 and serve to secure themold side walls 6, 7 to the frame standards 2, 3, which takes place on alevel with the bottom plate 5 by means of a journal 9 which is insertedin a hole in the frame standard and in one of the holes of a lowerseries of holes formed in the upright 8, and also adjacent the upper endof the upright by means of a cotter pin 10 or like element which isinserted in one of the holes of an upper series of holes formed in theupright and in a hole in a toggle I lever means 11 which is pivoted tothe frame standard 2 and 3, respectively, and is operated by means of amanually actuable lever 14 so that the upright 8 with the framestructure 6 and the mold side wall 7 can occupy two different positions,onein which that part of the mold side wall which is situated above thebottom plate 5 makes a right angle with the bottom plate of the mold(FIG. 2), and the other in which that partof the mold side wall which issituated above the bottom plate makes an angle with thebottom plate ofthe mold greater than (FIG. 3). The upright 8 and the mold side walls 6,7 are retained in these two positions by means of a spring 12 which isdisposed between the frame standards 2, 3 and the upright 8. The togglelever means 11 is a bellcrank lever 15 which at one end is mounted onthe cotter pinl0, at the other end is detachably connected to the lever14 and between its ends is pivoted by means of a pin 16 to one end of alink 17 to the other end of which is pivotally connected to the framestandard 2 and 3, respectively, by means of a pin 18.

To prevent liquid or grout from escaping from the concrete mold seals 13may be disposed between the support 4 for the mold bottom plate 5 andthe mold side walls 6,7 immediately beneath the bottom plate.

If desired, a double mold may be provided in a simple manner byextending the frame beams 1 and by placing identically alike butmirror-reversed elements on both sides of the row of stationary framestandards 2.

In the manufacture of concrete elements with the aid of the apparatusthe mold side walls 6, 7 are first caused to incline outwardly away fromone another and from the center of the mold, as viewed in an upwarddirection, in that the toggle lever means 11 is collapsed by means ofthe levers 14 (FIG. 3) so that the springs 12 contract and retain themold side walls in inclined position. The fulcrums of the mold sidewalls are situated approximately in the horizontal plane of the bottomplate 5, which means that the parts of the mold side walls above thebottom plate 5 of the mold are moved apart and the parts of the moldside walls below the bottom plate 5 of the mold are moved together,which latter movement is made possible in that the support 4 for thebottom plate 5 of the mold tapers in a downward direction. This openingof the mold facilitates placing the reinforcement, often in the shape ofa basket, in the mold. After placing the reinforcement in this mannerand other details (such as lifting lugs) have been brought in position,the mold side walls are moved back to vertical position (the mold isclosed) in that the toggle lever means 11 are straightened by means ofthe levers 14 into the position shown in FIG. 2 in which they areretained by the springs even though the mold is vibrated at the casting.Suitable end walls 19 are mounted for the closure of the mold ends. Theconcrete is now poured. Curing of the concrete may be facilitated byleading steam or hot water into the hollow profiles of the support 4 forthe bottom plate 5 and into the frame structures 6 which support themold panels 7. When the concrete has cured, the mold is opened bythetoggle lever means ll, and the element as cast can be removed from themold with the aid of a vacuum lifting appliance or with the aid of thelifting lugs embedded in the elements.

To permit casting concrete elements of varying dimensions the mold hasbeen constructed so as to allow the manufacture of concrete elements ofa great many different dimensions by changing the length, width andheight of the mold through simple measures.

The length of the concrete mold is altered by increasing or decreasingthe number of units (frame beam 1 with frame standards 2, 3) so that thetotal length corresponds to the length of the chosen mold side walls andof the associatedbottom plate.

The width of the concrete mold is altered by removal of the movableframe standards 3 and the adjacent mold side walls 6, 7 with theuprights 8 so that it is possible to remove the support 4 with thebottom plate 5, whereupon another support with a bottom plateof desireddimensions is placed on the horizontal frame beams l and the movableframe standards 3 and the mold side walls 6, 7 with the uprights 8 areagain placed in position on the frame beams and locked in some suitableway in the new position. It should be observed that the supports 4 forthe various bottom plates are of the same height so that said bottomplates will always be in register with the journals 9 about which themold side walls pivot on the frame standards.

The height of the concrete mold can be altered in two different waysdepending upon the desired size of the variations. With normal changesof the height of the mold the mold side walls can be raised or loweredin a simple manner by removal of the journals 9, 10 retaining theuprights 8 to the frame standards 2, 3 and raising or lowering theuprights with the mold side walls to the desired level, whereupon thejournals are again placed in position. In the case of great changes themold side walls 6, 7 can be exchanged in a manner similar to the bottom,that is, the movable frame standards 3 with the associated mold sidewalls 6, 7 are removed and the bottom 5 and the support therefor isshifted laterally, whereupon the mold side walls 6, 7 with theassociated uprights 8, which side walls are fastened to the stationaryframe standards 2, can be exchanged. After that the bottom 5 and itssupport 4 are again moved back in position and the movable framestandards 3 with the exchanged mold side walls 6, 7 are brought inposition and locked.

By these possibilities of variation, that is, exchange of the bottom,raising or lowering of the mold side walls or exchange thereof, concreteelements of a great many different dimensions can be manufactured in asimple manner without great expenditure of work or high costs.

Instead of operating the toggle lever means 11 by manually actuablelevers 14 use can be made of pressure medium operated cylinder-pistonunits which may displace the pin 16 of the toggle lever means betweenthe positions shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. An apparatus forcasting such concrete elements as pillars, columns and beams of varyingheight, width and length, which apparatus comprises a plurality of unitscollectively constituting the supports for two mold side walls and onebottom plate of a concrete mold, said units being arranged followingupon each other to make up the desired mold length, characterized inthat each of the units has a horizontal frame beam which has mountedthereon a fixedly connected frame standard and a horizontally movableframe standard which can be locked to the frame beam, that there isprovided between the two standards support means disposed on thehorizontal frame beam and supporting the bottom plate of the mold on alevel above the frame beam, that the mold sidewalls are situated on bothsides of the bottom plate and the support means and extend verticallyboth above and below the horizontal plane of the bottom plate, and thaton the side of the mold side walls facing away from the bottom platethere are mounted fixedly arranged uprights for the fixation of the moldside walls to the frame standards on the one hand on a level with thebottom plate by means of a journal inserted in a hole in the respectiveadjoining frame standard and in one of the holes of a lower series ofholes formed in the upright, and on the other hand adjacent the upperend of the upright by means of a cotter pin or like element which isinserted in one of the holes of an upper series of holes formed in theupright and in a hole in a toggle lever means which is pivoted to theframe standard and operable with the aid of an adjusting mechanism andby means of which the upright with the mold side wall can be swung intotwo different positions, one in which that part of the mold side wallwhich is situated above the bottom plate makes a right angle with thebottom plate of the mold, and the other in which that part of the moldside wall which is situated above the bottom plate makes an angle withthe bottom plate of the mold greater than 2. An apparatus as claimed inclaim 1, characterized in that the uprights with the associated moldside walls are retainable in their two positions that are adjustablewith the aid of the toggle lever means.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that seals ofsuitable material, e.g., rubber, are provided between the support forthe bottom plate of the mold and the mold side walls immediately beneaththe bottom plate, to prevent the liquid or the grout from escaping fromthe concrete mold.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that theadjusting mechanism is a manually actuable lever.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that theadjusting mechanism is a pressure medium operated cylinder-piston unit.

1. An apparatus for casting such concrete elements as pillars, columnsand beams of varying height, width and length, which apparatus comprisesa plurality of units collectively constituting the supports for two moldside walls and one bottom plate Of a concrete mold, said units beingarranged following upon each other to make up the desired mold length,characterized in that each of the units has a horizontal frame beamwhich has mounted thereon a fixedly connected frame standard and ahorizontally movable frame standard which can be locked to the framebeam, that there is provided between the two standards support meansdisposed on the horizontal frame beam and supporting the bottom plate ofthe mold on a level above the frame beam, that the mold side walls aresituated on both sides of the bottom plate and the support means andextend vertically both above and below the horizontal plane of thebottom plate, and that on the side of the mold side walls facing awayfrom the bottom plate there are mounted fixedly arranged uprights forthe fixation of the mold side walls to the frame standards on the onehand on a level with the bottom plate by means of a journal inserted ina hole in the respective adjoining frame standard and in one of theholes of a lower series of holes formed in the upright, and on the otherhand adjacent the upper end of the upright by means of a cotter pin orlike element which is inserted in one of the holes of an upper series ofholes formed in the upright and in a hole in a toggle lever means whichis pivoted to the frame standard and operable with the aid of anadjusting mechanism and by means of which the upright with the mold sidewall can be swung into two different positions, one in which that partof the mold side wall which is situated above the bottom plate makes aright angle with the bottom plate of the mold, and the other in whichthat part of the mold side wall which is situated above the bottom platemakes an angle with the bottom plate of the mold greater than 90* . 2.An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the uprightswith the associated mold side walls are retainable in their twopositions that are adjustable with the aid of the toggle lever means. 3.An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that seals ofsuitable material, e.g., rubber, are provided between the support forthe bottom plate of the mold and the mold side walls immediately beneaththe bottom plate, to prevent the liquid or the grout from escaping fromthe concrete mold.
 4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterizedin that the adjusting mechanism is a manually actuable lever.
 5. Anapparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the adjustingmechanism is a pressure medium operated cylinder-piston unit.